Guatemala sentences two to 360 years in sex slave case

Retired army officer and former paramilitary sentenced over sexual enslavement of women during bloody civil war.

27 Feb 2016 12:21 GMT

Reyes Giron listens to the judge beside his lawyer as he is sentenced to 120 years in prison [Moises Castillo/AP]

A Guatemalan court sentenced a retired army officer and a former paramilitary fighter to 120 years and 240 years in prison, respectively, for the sexual enslavement of women during the country's civil war.

Friday's ruling was the first in which a local court had handed down a judgment for such crimes in the country, which is seeking to address abuses committed during its 1960-1996 civil war. According to the United Nations, some 245,000 people were killed or disappeared during the conflict.

The retired officer, Esteelmer Reyes Giron, was found guilty of crimes against humanity for holding 15 women in sexual and domestic slavery and for killing another woman and her two young daughters.

Heriberto Valdez Asij, a civilian with military connections, was convicted on the same charges, as well as the forced disappearance of seven men.

During the trial, the victims testified to the abuse they suffered during six months in 1982 and 1983 at the Sepur Zarco military base in northern Guatemala.

After the army had entered their communities, the men were taken away, and when the women went to the military base to ask for them, they were raped and forced to cook and wash clothes for the soldiers.

Intention to appeal

Moises Galindo, the defence lawyer for Reyes Giron, said the trial was a fabrication and his client was never at the site of the crimes.

"We are going to appeal. We are going to succeed in having this case thrown out," Galindo said. "They should go to the location because the people of Sepur Zarco don't say that all this happened there."

But the judge said the accused couldn't deny knowing about what happened since they exercised control and power over the area.

The packed courtroom erupted in cheers and chants of "justice, justice" when the ruling was read.

"These historic convictions send the unequivocal message that sexual violence is a serious crime and that no matter how much time passes, it will be punished. It is a great victory for the 11 women who embarked on a 30-year-long battle for justice," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International.

During 20 hearings, 11 women from the indigenous Q'eqchis communities described how they physically and emotionally deteriorated while being raped and used as slaves for half a year. In court, many wore indigenous clothing and covered their faces.

More than 35 boxes of evidence were presented, including some with human remains and pieces of clothing.

The remains were exhumed in 2012 by the Guatemalan Foundation for Forensic Anthropology.

"We the judges firmly believe the testimony of the women who were raped in Sepur Zarco," said Yassmin Barrios, chief judge of the court. "Rape is an instrument or weapon of war. It is a way to attack the country, killing or raping the victims. The woman was seen as a military objective."